Silver-Screen Tinkering: 10 Badass Makers From Classic Movies

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Silver-Screen Tinkering: 10 Badass Makers From Classic Movies

Holy handicraft, Batman! As summer's blockbusters pass through megaplexes faster than speeding bullets, we've noticed a trend: superheroes and their madcap sci-fi co-stars are the greatest designers, inventors, and scrappy do-it-yourselfers we know. Many of our pop-culture icons achieved greatness not by magic or mutant powers, but with brains and bandsaws. Here's our top 10 list of most inspired makers in film, who've inspired mere mortals everywhere to follow in their footsteps.
Are your fave weekend warriors missing from the list? Add them in the comments!

Tony StarkMovie:Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The AvengersDIY Distinction: Implanted arc reactor in his chest; created weaponized, flying suit of armor.
Equal parts Armani and Air Force One, Iron Man's suit is a marvel of high-power haberdashery. We might not be able to do much to match Tony Stark's billionaire status, rapier wit, or Mensa-level IQ, but nothing can stop us from creating a suit of badass armor in our garage.
Real Life Counterpart: Before the Iron Man suit was a weapon, it was a medical device designed to keep Tony Stark alive. The Quantified Self movement has spawned a host of companies that are developing biometric sensors to track everything from sleep to physical exertion. Next up, outputs. Let's get cracking on repulsor beams and the whole flying thing.
Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures

SyndromeMovie:The IncrediblesDIY Distinction: This prolific inventor has tackled force fields, transportation, even interior decor -- fabricating a room divider out of lava.
Spurned by his hero, Mr. Incredible, Buddy Pine turned his rejection into a passion for inventing and became Syndrome, the most impressive animated arms dealer since Destro.
Seeking to level the playing field, Syndrome developed products that gave "normals" superhuman powers. With their sinuous lines and sleek modern profile, his creations would make Alvar Aalto proud. But his failure to follow best practices ("No Capes!") led to his demise.
Real Life Counterpart: Jony Ive. Syndrome created beautiful restraints. Apple captures users in its gorgeous iOS cages.
Photo Credit: Pixar

Wile E. CoyoteMovies: Made his debut in a 1949 Looney Tune called "Fast and Furry-ous." Take that, Vin Diesel!
DIY Distinction: Rube Goldberg-esque Road Runner hunting contraptions.
He'll get no love from PETA, but Mr. Coyote deserves points for persistence. His patronage of the ACME products company has helped spur more bizarre R&D than almost any other fictional character.
Real Life Counterpart: Quirky's Ben Kaufman. Acme made a "Do-It-Yourself Tornado Kit" and "Rocket Powered Roller Skates." Quirky, a crowdsourced product development company, makes similarly specific and absurd-sounding products like the "Bobble Brush," a tooth brush holder that won't fall over; and the "Scratch and Scroll," a combo notepad/mousepad.
Photo Credit: Warner Brothers

John HammondMovie:Jurassic ParkDIY Distinction: Cloned Dinosaurs, opened a theme park, and helped velociraptors dethrone T-rex as king of the prehistoric beasts in the minds of boys the world over.
This reptilian Walt Disney had big ambitions that came back to bite him -- literally. An early adopter of lean startup techniques, he built his first business as the host of a flea circus, went on to found a biotech firm called InGen, and nearly triggered a dinopocalypse when his experiments at Jurassic Park evolved beyond his control.
Real Life Counterpart:BioCurious, a DIY BIO Hackerspace. They haven't found any dino DNA preserved in amber -- yet -- but these biohackers are showing the potential of putting powerful tools in the hands of amateur scientists.
Photo Credit: Universal Studios

Willy WonkaMovie:Willy Wonka & The Chocolate FactoryDIY Distinction: Advanced candy manufacturing techniques.
He may be OSHA's bête noir, but Willy Wonka was an R&D whiz and a master marketer. Even Steve Jobs idolized Wonka, once suggesting that he turn in his turtleneck and don a purple suit and top hat to give the millionth iMac buyer a "golden ticket" tour of Apple HQ. His candy-making methods may have been dangerous, but they captured the imagination of kids across the world.
Real Life Counterpart: Food-based 3-D printers that can now churn out everything from chocolate to burritos. They lack Wonka's theatrical nature, but they also don't drown you in chocolate rivers.
Photo Credit: Warner Brothers

Anakin SkywalkerMovies:Star Wars: Episodes 1-6DIY Distinction: Pod racer design and fabrication; droid repair.
Before pioneering planet-destroying weapons and the art of Force choking, Anakin Skywalker was an accomplished vehicle designer, crafting a champion pod racer out of a junk in his master's scrap yard. His mechanical aptitude, cough -- the rise of an evil galactic empire -- cough, and ultimately the Return of the Jedi.
Real Life Counterpart:Ryno Motorcycles. These unique bikes have a single wheel, are kept upright by Segway-like gyroscopes, and offer a pod racer style experience for those who can't make it to a galaxy far, far, away.
Photo Credit: LucasFilm

GhostbustersMovies:Ghostbusters & Ghostbusters 2DIY Distinctions: Figuring out how to detect, capture, and store supernatural creatures.
The Ghostbusters were elite paranormal researchers who needed advanced scientific instruments. They built tools to detect ghosts and branded wheels to generate buzz for their fledgling service.
Fun Fact: The scientific principle behind their proton packs is the same as that in the Large Hadron Collider.
Real Life Counterpart: Bre Pettis and the MakerBot crew are today's Ghostbusters -- building machines that consort with skulls and helping to reinvigorate New York with a dose of can-do spirit.
Photo Credit: Sony Pictures

Lucius FoxMovies:Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight RisesDIY Distinction: Being Batman's quartermaster.
Batman may be a billionaire playboy and ninja-trained warrior, but he's got help in the design dept. Lucius Fox does for Batman what "Q" does for James Bond, outfitting the batcave and batmobile with bleeding-edge gadgetry. When Batman needs new tools, it's Fox who makes them.
Real Life Counterpart:Elon Musk. Like Fox, Musk's Teslas look like batmobiles and may go as fast. Now he's upped the ante with a commercial space flight. Your move, Batman.
Photo Credit: Warner Brothers

Emmett "Doc" BrownMovies:Back to the Future trilogyDIY Distinction: The Flux Capacitor, Mr. Fusion, and scale models of Hill Valley.
Doc Brown risked assassination by terrorists, electrocution, and train derailment to test his DIY time-machine.
Real Life Counterpart: We're not holding out hope for a time-traveling Delorean, but some of the futuristic innovation seen in Back to the Future 2 has come to fruition. Tabletop ordering at restaurants? ElaCarte. Opening doors with your thumbprint? Craftsman AssureLink. The eyes of the nation are now turned toward Mattel in anxious anticipation of a functional Hoverboard.
Photo Credit: Sony Pictures